Kypriotianika

whats the name of this village ?

Leslie Kepreotis was born on the 25th of March 1912 in the village of Kypriotianika, Kythera and passed away in Prince of Wales Hospital, after suffering from two heart attacks in his home in Maroubra, on the 8th of November 1977. He was 65 years old.


He was born in the family home on Kythera with a midwife and was the second youngest of a large family of seven; Nick, George, Peter, Les, Stamatoula, Gene, Bessie. He is survived by his wife Doreen Kepreotis and sons Victor, Peter, Steven and Paul.

His parents were Vretos, ‘Mikros Bretos’ Kepreotis and Katerina Kepreotis. They came out to Australia to visit for the first time just before the Second World War. ‘Mikros Bretos’ was his father’s nickname because his cousin had the same Christian name and from the same village but he was older, so to make it less confusing for everyone they assigned him the nickname of ‘Mikros Bretos’. Les himself was also of shortish appearance, about 5’6, and quite thin. He was also very active through his work. The family home for the Kepreotis’ is in Kypriotianika, right at the top of the village. When the bulk of the family left, the only one to stay home was Les’ brother George. They remained behind initially to look after their parents and then tried to fix the family home (patriko spiti) from its dilapidated state after their parents died , with great success. All the siblings of Les’ family were born there. It had a kitchen, bathroom area and a couple of bedrooms; as well as a backyard with a well. The Majority of siblings left there before the Second World War and they all came to Australia in search of a better life for themselves and the family units they were to create. They were spread as far and wide as Wollongong, Penrith, Roseville, Artarmon, Brighton-Le-Sands and down to Kiama. He eventually married and settled in Maroubra in 1949. They were all in NSW but not that close and therefore there were only the occasional family get-togethers. Transport was not as readily available to the general public as it is these days. The family would congregate more for functions such as; funerals, weddings, Christmas and Easter celebrations.

However, Les’ brother George and family went and lived in the neighbouring village of Aloizianika. Now only Vrettos and his wife Elvira live there when they return from Pireaus/Athens.

Growing up, Les always had a talent for singing and music in general. While he was young in Kythera he used to sing at the churches and they wanted him to become a priest. But his eldest sister got married and came to Australia where she had three kids. Unfortunately her husband died quite young so his family sent Les out to Australia at the age of 15 to help to look after his sister Stamatoula. She had married an Aroney (Cousin to Nicholas Aroney), and Les helped her raise her two sons Victor and Theo; and her daughter Helen. They lived in Nowra. While he was there he learnt to play the violin from the nuns. They taught him a left-handed-style of playing because he was naturally left-handed, but he was made to write with his right hand at school. He was also able to refine his singing in Nowra. He was then enlisted into the army as a non-naturalised soldier, where he was called up to do duty in the supply depots. He was stationed in Werris Creek where he became a Corporal. His brother George was naturalised and saw combat at El Alamein in the Middle East. They did not allow the ethnics to fight because they feared disloyalty (that they maybe like the Italians and aligned with the Germans). They were placed in Werris Creek for the duration of the war and they were able to mix with the community frequently. This is where he first met his wife-to-be Doreen, as her family owned a restaurant outside the train station at Werris Creek, which was in a prime position as it was once a crossroads for all interstate trains. She would see them nearly every night. They would have concerts and dances in which the soldiers all attended. There was once a particular concert where he sang the national anthems for the entire supply depot, highlighting his ability to sing and entertain.

Les was considered quite intelligent amongst his family and peers, often referred to as the brains behind all his business ventures. However he never went to school here in Australia and had a very limited education in Kythera. He missed his vocation, so it was a big thing for him to have all four of his sons continue through all forms of education and become successful. His hobbies included playing the violin and gardening on his day off from work. He worked six solid days a week and would take Mondays off.

His wife and second son used to do a jigsaw puzzle some nights to get young Peter through his severe asthma and keep his mind off it. They would leave the last piece for him when he got home from work.

It was often a task for the boys to stay up to see their father as he worked such long and arduous hours. He would take the kids to the Kytherian picnics and dances. We used the facilities of the Hellenic Club and the first Kythera House, in Regent Street, Chippendale, where we had the first engagement of first born son, Victor. He was also a key member of a gathering of mates; Charlie Aroney, Jack Tzannes, Peter Notaras (Doreen’s brother- in-law) and Mr Castrission, on Sundays where they would visit each other’s garden and have a coffee and a chat. It was an unofficial competition where they would rate the others gardens. Les’ was in many ways one of the best ones in that group, not just for variety that he incorporated, but in layout and structure and how aesthetically pleasing his garden was. It was often considered the most organised, decretive, of good quality, systematic and ordered. A truly magnificent achievement and a credit to his intelligent mind and dedication. Differing to the Greek perivolia in that sense.

Another habit of his, albeit a bad one, was that he would consume more than a packet of cigarettes a day, a fact which his family acknowledge led to his early death at the age of sixty-five. It probably started when he went into the Army and got addicted but it also was his way of dealing with the various tragedies that his family experienced, whilst also coping with the frantic work life that he created for himself. He spoke English more than Greek to his children around the house; although he was Greek born. Due to the fact that he worked on Sundays till his early 50’s, he couldn’t attend church services. In the last fourteen years of his life in the Maroubra Fish Shop his day off in the garden was Sunday.

Although Les was not keen on athletics, he was an avid dancer and had more than just an ear for music. He loved his Greek heritage and was certainly proud of where he came from. But he never was able to and not willing to go back to Kythera. Since he knew it hadn’t changed from the island of painful memories that he had left all those years ago.

In his younger years in Australia when they had birthday parties or get-togethers, he would play the violin, providing the musical entertainment and those in attendance would dance a kalamatiano or some other traditional dance especially if someone else was playing the piano. He was always involved in one way or another with the music and entertainment side of gatherings and is often remember by relatives and friends alike for his unique ability.

As a boy Les was known to help his family around the house and in the horafia, tending to the animals and maintaining the fields that the family owned. After he was sent to Australia as a boy, he helped his sister, Stamatoula, probably in Nowra, to maintain her household before moving to Wollongong and then Penrith in Sydney with his brother, Nick and eventually getting into partnership with his old friend from the army days, Charles Aroney; and fellow Kytherians Nicholas Anthony Aroney and Captain Zarakosta. They opened a Chicken Grill in George Street in the City, with the building acting as a multi-functional business. It also had a reception venue above the shop called the Coronet. Les was considered the brains behind the partnerships. Charlie Aroney, his koumbaro, was the brawns. He worked so hard all his life that he missed all his kid’s presentation evenings and sporting events. Work superseded his family life. He of course was certainly a great provider for his family, which allowed his sons to complete all forms of education and pursue careers in fields that he could not, however it was perhaps at the sacrifice of other things.

The building was eventually sold, with the landlord forcing their hands by increasing the rent by a staggering 300%, and so naturally the partnership dissolved. He stayed in close contact with one partner Charlie Aroney, his best mate from the army, and opened a milk bar/ café inside Wynyard and then St James’ station. The business savvy pair capitalised on all the passengers travelling to and from work in the mornings and afternoons that would pass through to get to the trains. After that venture ran its course, they opened a fish shop in Maroubra about 1963 on the northern side of Maroubra Bay Road as you head to the beach. The fish shop to start off with was doing really well but things changed dramatically after December 1966 when Pope Paul V1 announced that the Catholics could eat meat on Fridays. Before that, seafood was their only option and so the business was thriving enough to support the two families. It became more difficult after that and it took its toll on Les. He then had to work doubly hard to break even and so on his only day off on Sundays, he could be found tending to his beloved garden whilst the kids were at school. He bought the house in Maroubra in 1949 and married Doreen on September 11th 1949.

There was never much time to travel between the business that Les opened and ran, with his work hours often superseding time spent away from work. The whole family went on one short holiday to Port Macquarie eleven years after his marriage to Doreen. He was too busy working to discuss any of this. He was truly of the old school breed where working hard was the ethos of the time and that was what it took to be a good provider.

“He was never here to plan anything,” his wife Doreen claimed, remembering him as a workaholic.

Migration was not really a choice for Les, as he was sent out to help his sister and her family. Her husband passed away at a young age and she was left to look after three kids by herself; not an easy feat for anyone coupled with the fact she was herself a migrant trying to establish a life for her family on foreign shores. There was a significant age difference between his eldest sister and him of 20 years and he stayed with her till his nephews. Theo and Victor, graduated from university in Dentistry, which had an obvious impact on him as he advised his eldest son in becoming one. She was more or less like a mother to Les. Then he came down to live at Bondi and started the chicken grill (daytime-street level), which had the Coronet reception above in George Street, Sydney. The Coronet catered for birthdays, engagements and weddings all of a night time. This meant that Les would often leave the house at five o’clock in the morning to first go to the market and then go from there to the shop and work till 11 o’clock at night. The hard working father would then sleep there a couple of hours and return to his house at around two in the morning to get a couple of hours more sleep, before leaving again at five and repeating this all over again. This, Doreen claims, is why the kids never saw him. He was a hard worker and only had Mondays off which he spent in the garden and unfortunately his four boys were at school.

He was released by the army supply depot in 1947 and was married by the end of 1949. The marriage was at the Coronet, which he was part owner of and he was thirty-seven years of age at the time. The date was the 11th of September 1949 and the couple had already bought the house in Maroubra before they got married. It wasn’t entirely finished at that time so they stayed with his sister for a couple of months, the same sister he came out to help as a fifteen year old boy. Back in those days one builder would come along and build a couple of houses of the same blue print in the area. This particular builder built three of the same houses in a row. It had a huge backyard which attracted Les to it straight away as his mind went to what he knew and loved, gardening. His children were a great highlight in his life, seeing them graduate from school and living to see his eldest son graduate from university and then get married. Unfortunately for Les, he passed away before he could witness his other sons reach the same level and then produce grandchildren. He was regarded amongst friends as a great musician and that was when he was most happy. You would catch him at his most jovial self when sitting around with everyone and playing the violin. And a bigger highlight for him, says his son Victor, would have been the accolades he received for his music and later in life his gardening. Doreen claims he would have been very proud of all his children and especially his grandkids going through university as well and being successful at school. It is just a shame his life was cut short before he could witness these achievements.

Les did experience a lot of difficulties in his sixty-five years of existence. His baby daughter dying at eight months old was something he never dealt with very well. Katerina was admitted to hospital on the Friday while he was at work but because work was so important to him he decided to instead go on his day off on Monday to visit her (because back in those days you could only go and visit one day a week). However, as it turned out, Monday was the day she was buried. He didn’t want to talk about it after that and almost acted as if it never happened, an old Greek mentality of shutting it out of your mind. This was not Doreen’s most preferred way of dealing with the tragedy which caused great tension between the two. He started smoking much more as a result and used it as a crutch to deal with the situation. Les also did not like visiting the cemetery; he really couldn’t take anything like that which made it difficult for them to deal with her death. There is no doubt in the minds of his family that this event had an enormous impact on the rest of his life.

Doreen: “Les died in November 1977 at the age of sixty-five after a second heart attack. I remember the boys saying goodbye to their father at home before leaving for a Kytherian Brotherhood Black and White fancy ball and then he passed out after they had left. I heard him collapse in the living room behind me as I sat in the TV room and ran to call the ambulance. The ambulance came and revived him in the house and worked on him on the way to Prince of Wales hospital. He was there for two weeks and we visited him every night. In between the two heart attacks he wasn’t looking after himself, didn’t take his tablets and the neighbour once said he saw him smoking out the back. I had to take over all the running around of the business, went to the fish markets etc. and therefore could not look after him at home and make sure he was doing the right stuff to recover. He eventually went back to work and one day coming back from the market he complained of a pain and then his health declined quite rapidly. He was in hospital there for a week but wasn’t allowed to come home. I remember saying goodbye one night not expecting anything to change and watched him get up to change the channel on the TV. He seemed fine both to the boys and myself; and in our minds he was recuperating. He died over night. We had said goodnight and I remember he tried to say something to me but he could not articulate it and it just came out as a mumble. I’ve always wondered what was it he wanted to say. The phone rang at about five in the morning, he died sometime after we left that night but the hospital did not say anything until the next morning. Supposedly he had an aortic aneurism. Steven picked up the phone and was told the bad news. Les passed away on the 8th of November and was buried at Botany cemetery on the 11th. After that, his interests and property had to be settled because he never had a will, another poor old Greek mentality that they didn’t want to jinx it; they thought they would die if they did in fact write a will before their time. He owed some money he had to pay back to his business partner that the family had to sort out as well as the property. It was a very difficult time for us. And that year we also had to pay probate, I really thought I was going to lose everything. This was when I had the second nervous breakdown.”

If he was looking down from above he would be happy with how his children and grandchildren progressed academically. He was a hard worker and a good provider for his family. He would have been the type that would have enjoyed his retirement. In the fifty years he was in Australia, left Kythera as a fifteen year old and died as a sixty-five year old, he never went back. But it was a big thing for him that he eventually wanted to go back. His family believe it was definitely something that he would have wanted to do before he died. He wanted to take his family back but he decided to focus on extending the house that year and leave it for a later date. He never made it. His son Victor got the impression that the island changed that much that there was nothing back there that he would have remembered. He would have been pleased that his son is the president of the Kytherian Association of Australia and so completely involved in its current form. Unfortunately for his wife and kids, he died at an age where he would have been thinking about retirement and which would have given him a much better opportunity to be involved in their lives; keeping in mind previous to that he worked all his life extremely hard to provide for his family. It is unfortunately a case of what may have been, for Les and his family.

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This oral history was taken in 2011 by Joshua Kepreotis and final edit in 2014.

My name is Doreen Kepreotis and I was born in Werris Creek to Greek-born parents on the 5th of august 1924. I am 4th in line of eight children. My mother had eight children in eight years, which was something quite normal back in those days. I was born in the family home in the room above the shop. There was no hospital in Werris Creek, or anything nearby, so everything was conducted around our place.

My parents were Peter and Efstratia Kepreotes and they landed in Australia in 1921 from Greece. My father had a restaurant with his brother, Spiro, in Werris Creek. Ironically, my maiden name was remarkably similar to my husband’s surname as both our families came from the same village in Kythera, Kypriotianika. It was a common tradition for most Kytherians to take the surname from your village. This was of course the way of things many generations ago. In Australia my parents built a new restaurant as a family business in Werris Creek and had our residence upstairs. My father opened it up with his brother. My parents would speak Greek and we would speak English. They adapted well because my father came out young and then of course was made to go back where he got caught up in the First World War. When my mother came out she never knew one word of English. She taught herself how to talk and read, very industrious. My father was as well. He had no education or anything but had the foresight to develop a life for his family. An example of this was the fact that he created a well behind our house, as at that time the country was low on water supplies. It was this type of thinking that helped us a lot. He was a kind man but also hard when he needed to be. I remember being chased around the well a couple of times. And I also remember dad getting us exotic foods whenever he could to keep us happy.

I don’t really remember them having any nicknames but I do remember that my grandfather, on my mums side was often called Makarounis and I believe that was because he was especially fond of makaronia. Both my parents were born in Kythera, with my father’s family originating from Kypriotianika and my mother’s from Alozianikia. They were both of medium height and had really strong personalities. In her later years, after my father passed, my mother was referred to as ‘The General’ by her extended family, based on her ability to look after so many kids as a widow.

I came from a family of eight kids. My mother remarkably had eight kids in eight years and I was the middle child. She first had Irene (Rene) in 1921 and followed that with Mary, Zac, myself, Kosta (who died at six months of age), Nick, Charlie and then Jackie.

My childhood was quite difficult living out in rural Australia. We worked hard and our parents were strict on us. Around the house and shop we would do the washing by boiling the copper in the back and then rinsing the clothes out and hanging them on the line. We didn’t have washing machines back then, things were done a lot harder, and things we take for granted today. Our family did not have any cousins or relatives out here in Australia, as they were all back in Greece so as a family, we were quite isolated and were also forced to assimilate into the Australian way of life. Our family home was not massive by any stretch of the imagination and therefore I would have to share a room with the girls; and the boys also shared one another. We lived on top of dad’s business.
I can only really remember working and then going to bed. I can’t say that I remember too much of that time. It was largely centred round waking up, work, school, work, eating and then off to bed. My father would take us out and try keep us happy as much as he could. But there was no mixing with other people. And we just assumed it was the norm. My siblings all remained here in Australia so it was relatively easy to stay in touch. None chose to go back to Greece and return to the place our parents were born. All of them were born here and all of them married here, and had children here. Currently, there are four that remain alive (Zac, Irene and Nick had passed) myself included. Charlie, Mary and Jackie are the other three and we are all very much in close contact. Some of us lived close by and still do and so we stayed close. The boys went into business together. We were a close family.

I grew up in Werris Creek. The country town was a junction for the trains coming in where people would have to wait sometimes two or three days to get their connecting trains. My father capitalised on this by building the restaurant and buying billiard tables to entertain them. We then moved down to Sydney after the Second World War, when business was starting to dry up and the large city was seen as a more prosperous place for us. Life during the War was quite difficult. My brother Zac enlisted in the war in the Air Force in New Guinea. So we had to do a lot for ourselves because my father had bad Tuberculosis, convalesced at Katoomba and relocated to Stockinbingal with his brother. He was basically in quarantine and he died in Cootamundra hospital during the Second World War after which my mother then had to work extremely hard maintaining the shop and 8 kids (Zac was still in the Air Force). Being only a teenager you never thought about the consequences of the war. Business was still good during the war, we didn’t suffer much. However, business did go bad when they shut down some of the train lines. Werris Creek had a supply depot for the soldiers in which they would come in for meals and we would serve them. We were the only Greek family in the town. At school you were called Dago. I learnt first-aid and also took a course in Morse Code on the railway station and the papers all went through, however I believe I was turned down because of my name. That was the first time I encountered any form of racism.

I was lucky enough to go to school in the country. However, I finished up half way through first year high school. I went to Tamworth High which was not close by. We would travel an hour there and an hour back. I can’t really remember having too many close friends as we weren’t allowed to meet new people and mingle outside of the family home while we were growing up. I had very strict parents. I have always said that they were more strict here than over in Greece and I put it down to the fact that I believe they felt it very necessary to maintain the values and morals they grew up with, to hold on to a part of Greece and their Greek heritage that they did not want to lose to a new country.

I remember that my sewing teacher wanted me to come down to Sydney because she saw talent in me, however my parents were strict and needed me to help out around the shop and house. Back in those days, girls didn’t learn a trade it was just assumed they would stay home and work. The boys, on the other hand, did. We just thought it was the norm and so I don’t really recall being bitter about that decision because back then you really didn’t know any better. I loved playing sport, especially tennis. A sister of the school, which was primarily a church (St Josephs) on the weekend and school during the week, believed I had a career. That’s how my siblings and I kept ourselves entertained. We never learnt to Greek dance or anything as there was no Greek community there in the country. The closest was in Kuringai and Tamworth, and so it was not a big part of our daily routine. My brother Zac and I were both Christened in the same tub as there was a shortage of Greek priests in the country. When we came down to Sydney we got involved again. We would go to the Kytherian dances and picnics. I was however shy and so didn’t meet many people initially.

We had a lot of animals growing up but in particular the one animal that stands out for me is the chickens we owned. I remember distinctly how my father would cut off their heads in the backyard. That is certainly something that is not easily forgotten. I would often help out in the yard, and specifically loved chopping wood.

I don’t really remember paying too much attention to special events in the calendar year whilst living in the country, because as a family we were alone; we had no real extended relatives anywhere nearby. However, when we moved to the city we would spend Christmas and Easter all together with other cousins. The only special Christmas tradition I knew of back in those early days included our father walking into the room we were all in and throwing lollies up in the air. We had no real time and money, to celebrate these things. I mean, take for example the fact that there was no Greek church in Werris Creek, how were we to really celebrate the birth and death of Jesus Christ and also maintain a semblance of Greek heritage? It was very hard. I went one day to the Catholic Church to experience what it was like, because of course we did not know much back then. And I came back and my father was waiting behind the gate to reprimand me because I hadn’t told them and that it was a Catholic church, not part of Orthodoxy. They were both religious and devout Orthodox followers. We never knew any of this in the country and learnt it all when we came to Sydney. Our parents were too busy in the shop to teach us.

At school my nickname was “tiny”, as I was very small. When I was a baby they used to have me in a dolls pram because I was that small. I sprung up a bit at 14 or 15 years of age to about 5 foot and pretty much stayed there. At Tamworth High my most enjoyable subjects, and the ones I was best at, were both sewing and sports. Tennis usually took up my weekends as well. However, I also loved watching movies. It was one of my favourite things to do but not easily accomplished.

We would have to sneak out because we were not allowed. At about the age of sixteen I saw that the movie The Great Walls was coming and would be at the cinema for roughly two months and I wanted to see it. My father left for the day as there was a death in the family. I said to my eldest brother Zac that we should go while dad was away. It was an open air theatre but I didn’t enjoy it because I was too worried. When we went home Zac went round the back so dad wouldn’t see him but I went through the front because I thought he wouldn’t hit me in front of the customers. I was wrong. And then I had to serve the customers on top of that. You see, you always waited on breakfast, lunch and dinner for your life savings. We survived on those periods of the day when it was busy.

Movies like Gone with the Wind and Casablanca were childhood favourites that I can still remember.

My first job was helping out my father in the shops, we all worked hard. The first job I ever knew was to collect everybody’s shoes of a Saturday and polish them. I can also remember cleaning the shop out on numerous occasions. And serving the customers, which was sometime in between school.

In Werris Creek we had a shop, Kurindai we had a shop, Randwick we had a shop. Then when I got married, for the first eight years my husband and his partner (koumbaro, Charlie Aroney) had a café/reception business (called “Chicken Grill”/ “Coronet” in George Street), shops near Wynyard and then St. James railway stations and then a fish shop in Maroubra. That’s all I ever really new as an adult was working the small business shops that Greeks became synonymous with back then. There was however, a time when I did fancy a career as a seamstress. It didn’t happen because it was too hard to leave my parents. And then when I got married I had four boys so it was really out of the question, but it was something I would have liked to have pursued in life. I still make things from time to time to keep myself busy, for example one Christmas I made all my boys, daughter-in-laws and my grandchildren beanies for the winter, that they all wore. We had a good laugh.

I moved out of home for the first time when I got married and came to the house that I am still living in today in Maroubra. I’ve been here since 1949. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to travel much at all because we were constantly working. We only went to the Kytherian picnics and Balls which we did enjoy.

I met my husband Les, a while before we got married, as he was one of the soldiers up at Werris Creek in the supply depot. Most of the non-naturalized (Italians, Greeks) would come in the shop and have dinner or play cards and play dad’s piano all together and sing. I would see him often because they frequented Werris Creek. They would have concerts up there. Once my husband Les sang the Australian and Greek national anthems with my sister Rene. It was more or less a proxied marriage. We weren’t given a choice because we were never allowed to meet other people and it was the general practise at the time. It was all new to me. I used to say that we were in the dark as young kids and didn’t know much. I do believe that was the case which is a contrast to how things are conducted these days.

We decided to have kids pretty much straight away and became parents two years after marriage in 51’. However back then you didn’t really plan things like that, it just basically unfolded itself. When I lost my first born girl at 8months of age I wanted another girl and instead had two boys and then went again and had twin boys, so it was quite difficult for me raising them. In disciplining them however I never wanted to be as strict as what my parents were to me so that my children could experience more in life. I wanted them to play all kinds of sports and live a little. More than I ever did. My husband worked very hard, six days a week, and he was a great provider. And on his only day off he would be in the garden, his great hobby. My job was to look after the kids.

My parents migrated together after they were married. It was easier for them because my father had already been out previously and worked to establish something for himself here. We didn’t go back to Greece together. After my father died my mother went back to Kythera for two months. I finally went over five years after my husband died and travelled with my eldest son Victor in 1982. We went for two months which was our first time to Greece for both of us. Victor wanted to see all the archaeology things in Athens and I didn’t enjoy myself. It only got more enjoyable for me going to Kythera. I didn’t know much about it as a child. Couldn’t wait to go see the Myrtithiotisa Church on the 15th of August but I was actually glad to come home. “No place like home.” I missed my family and the comfort of home and what Australia has to offer. Having said that I did enjoy myself on the island with the relatives and yet I have never been back. It has not been a necessity for me like it would have been for my husband.

The most wonderful experiences of my life would have to be watching all my grandchildren getting through Uni. I love seeing them doing well and seeing my boys being born of course. I have had some very tough and challenging experiences in life but it has definitely been worth it. First time I ever won on the Melbourne Cup was something I can remember, because we simply did not have much money back then so this was a massive achievement for me to have my own money. I felt independent. A feeling I was not always used to.

I believe I have had a lot of bad luck in life which has contributed to my anxieties and my worries. My husband and daughter passing away before their time played massive roles in my life and I subsequently had two nervous breakdowns as a direct result. I lost Katerina at eight months old. She hadn’t even been christened yet because we waited for our koumbaro to generate money. I knew she wasn’t well and so I took her to the clinic. They sent us home. I never quite found out what happened although they suspected gastro enteritis. I rang everyday to the hospital, because you were only allowed only one day a week to visit. It all happened on the Friday and we were going to go on the Monday on Les’ day off, except that is the day we buried her. Everyday they said she was OK and then the Friday they told me things had turned. I ran down the lane and flagged down a stranger’s car, we didn’t have one. When I got to the hospital she was gone. That one experience had a very big effect on my life. My first nervous breakdown was around this time which coincided with an eight month phobia I developed, combined with my son Peter developing a severe case of Asthma.

The second breakdown was after my husband died. With all the trauma, I then had to deal with the legalities surrounding the fact he had no will and the probate came into play. We lost two buildings and nearly lost the house. And we had to pay probate on top of that. The night of his first collapse, the kids went to a Kytherian black and white ball and as soon as they left Les passed out in the living room. The ambulance revived him here at home. He was then later released to return home. At this time he failed to look after himself and was even caught, by the next door neighbour, smoking. I was unable to make sure he was looking after himself as I had to look after the shop in the mean time while he was recovering. The boys had to stop their studies after he died and go work the shop to ensure we had enough money to carry on. It was an extremely difficult time for us and followed a trend in my life.

Having said this I do believe all the negative experiences have made me stronger. I have lived and functioned by myself from 1977 in this house alone. And dealing with all the medical problems I have had, I am quite proud of my knowledge in that area and my self medication. I have had a lot of worries in my life, but I used to joke a lot and I think that is what got me through. One doctor Lafferty told me that was the best medicine. I generally can remember all my doctor’s names. I have had asthma most of my life which probably has given me the most stress, my breathing is very bad. However I will never forget what one respiratory doctor said to me one time in the hospital, “Breathe in as if you are smelling a flower and breathe out like you are cooling down hot soup.” It keeps me stable and calm.

I would sum up my life as one with a lot of ups and downs. Both laughter and cries I guess. And I would like to be remembered for looking after the kids. Getting four boys by myself to a point in their lives that they were safe and able to look after themselves and provide for their own respective families.

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This oral history was taken in 2011 by Joshua Kepreotis and final edit in 2014.

This image is part of a photographic documentary series entitled “One Year on Kythera”. “One Year on Kythera” was created by photographer Kristina Williamson, who spent one calender year living on Kythera, documenting the lives of Kytherians today; what aspects of traditional life remain in practice and in what ways the island is changing.

For more information on this project please visit www.oneyearonkythera.com

THE HISTORY OF THE SURNAME ‘KEPREOTES’* ACCORDING TO THE BOOK BY EMM. P. KALLIGEROS ‘KYTHIRAIKA EPONYMA’
(ATHENS 2002, pp. 386-388)



This surname is not widespread in Kythera, although the small village of Kipriotianika, once known as Drimonari, owes its name to it.

The surname ‘Kepreotes’ belongs to the place-specific category of names and means one who is a descendant of Cyprus.

Deriving from a large island such as Cyprus, it is found throughout the Aegean and Ionian islands. It became more common following the fall of Cyprus to the Turks in 1570, when many of its inhabitants sought refuge on the Aegean islands and Crete. We therefore find the surname simultaneously in many regions that are in close proximity to Kythera. Several indicative examples are mentioned here:

We find the surname in this form from the year 1453. Records exist for a Maria, the widow of Nicholas Chiprioti from the village of Chalogeri. We also know of a Pierro Tripolitis Kepreotes and Tomazos Tripolitis Kepreotes mentioned in Venice in 1522 and 1524. In their case, the surname is written before the national derivation, which normally prevailed in later times. Furthermore, there is a record of Francesco Kepreotes in 1603 and Nicholas Kepreotes in 1605, also in Venice. In 1614, Nicholas was a commander of a frigate which sailed between Zakynthos and Moria (Peloponnese). And in 1657, there was a Christopher Kyriakopoulos, known as Kepreotes, in Handaka.

In Kythera itself, however, the first record of the name in this form comes from the census information. While there is an earlier reference to the name Dacipri, it has not yet been established whether there is any relationship between these two names, and whether Kepreotes is a continuation of Dacipri, which has exactly the same meaning. There is a reference to Dacipri from 1690, concerning the “casa del sargente Dacipri” which was among the homes that were suspected of having the plague, fortunately however without the disease causing any deaths.

There is a census entry in 1721 from the village of Kyperi (modern day Frilingianika) regarding the family of Lorenzo Chiprioti q. Nicola. Somewhere between 1724 and 1753 the family settled in Drimonari which, due to the name of the Kepreotes family, was subsequently called Kipriotianika. This followed the custom in Kythera of naming villages and dwellings after the largest - or only - family residing there. In this village, all inhabitants belonged to the Kepreotes clan, except one family with the surname Nichiforos, that of Manoli Nichiforo q. Vassili. The family were perhaps refugees from Crete, as it is a common name in the Cretan region of Sfakia.

It is quite possible that the same applies to the Kepreotes family who initially settled in Kyperi, together with the Nichiforos family, before resettling – together again – in Drimonari when they decided to remain permanently on Kythera. We observe that no trace of either family can be found on the island prior to this time, a fact which suggests that both were refugee families. Even their very arrival in Drimonari leads us to this conclusion, as the dwellings were established in a hilly region which was previously uninhabited in any systematic way.

From the family of the same Lorenzo Kepreotes (who had four sons: Nicholas, Kosmas, John and Michael) are descended all Kytherian families of that name.

In 1829, we learn of a Stefanos Kepreotes who was the captain of the ship Panagia Myrtidiotissa, and who was probably Kytherian, based on the name given to the ship.

From the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, this surname is found throughout the Kytherian diaspora, especially in Australia, where there are many families who hail from the island of Kythera.





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* NB The spelling of Kepreotes can appear as Kepreotis, Kypriotis and as other variations in the English language.

The other day my koumbara asked if I would help her pick fasolia. I knew it would be pleasant work in the cool of evening, and agreed to meet her at seven o’clock in the babakia.

The babakia is a marvelous ‘waterless’ garden, one that requires just the right conditions to make it work: the winters must be very wet, the summer days must be very dry, and the summer nights must be moist with dew. The soil must be rich and loose, without too much sand or clay.

During the rainy season, the babakia is plowed several times to make sure that the ground is evenly wet far below the surface. To keep weeds down, the final plowing is timed to coincide with the last rains of spring. Then the garden is planted, and left on its own.

When the weather turns dry, the surface of the babakia hardens, forming a crust beneath which enough moisture has been trapped to nourish the roots, while the night mists hydrate the plant above the surface. A good babakia requires no watering and no maintainence beyond harvesting the abundance of beans, melons and tomatoes it produces.

This year Kythera’s babakias are enjoying a bumper crop of fasolia. Koumbara and I picked and picked, and still the garden seemed full. As we moved along the rows of bushes dripping with ripe green beans, I couldn’t resist nibbling a few, savoring the delightful contrast between the crisp outer pod, still warm from the sun, and the cool, sweet, juicy beans inside.

Despite my nibbling, we quickly filled seven big bags of beans. Koumbaros arrived with his truck, and I put my bags inside. “No, no,” he said, “those are for you.”

I protested. “We’re only two people, we can’t possibly eat all these beans.”

“Keep them,” he insisted, “or give them away. We have too much already!”

And then I realized, they didn’t need my help picking beans at all. Rather, they needed my help consuming them. With typical Kytherian generosity, they merely wanted to share the summer’s bounty. Well, I was happy to oblige, and accepted a bulging bag of beans, along with a couple of peponi and some tomatoes.

I prepared them according to Koumbara’s recipe, and they were absolutely delicious.

KOUMBARA’S FASOLIA (Green Beans)
1 kilo fresh green fasolia
1 large onion, cut in quarters
1 large, ripe tomato, chopped
Olive oil
Sea salt

Wash and trim the thin, young beans; large beans will have stringy pods, so split them, remove the seeds, and give the empty pods to the goats. Place young whole fasolia, the large inner beans, the onion and the tomato in a pot with water to cover. Boil until tender. Sprinkle liberally with Kytherian olive oil and sea salt. Also delicious the next day as a cold salad with oil and vinegar.

The decaying lookout tower and church of Saint Barbara have a view to the monastery of St. George and a glimpse of the sea.